It really makes me angry: Another debate, another remark à la “I have X years of experience in this”; or “I have studied this”; or my personal favourite “I have done an internship on this”.

What is the point you are trying to make? That you and your advice can be trusted because of some random experience heaven knows how many years ago? I’m sorry, but a master and even a PhD in something does not equal knowledge or genuine experience. You might have a degree but that does not tell me how much effort you really put into it. How much of it you remember today. How valid your experiments were, how significant your data.

There are way too many self-proclaimed experts. Claiming authority by seniority doesn’t work for me. Convince me with arguments, with sharing knowledge, with showing me why you would be right. But please don’t come with this “you can trust me on that one because I know…”

No, I cannot. Of course I could but this would mean that I allow you to pass on the responsibility to remember something from yourself to me. And when I forget it, suddenly it is my fault that whatever it was hasn’t happened. Et je n’aime pas ça.

Mobile phones have great reminder functions, pen and paper have done this job for hundreds of years and don’t even get me started on Outlook calender, etc.

So instead of asking someone else, do it, or save it on to something that will remind you. Not someone.